Game board



Oct. 5, 1937. E. P. RUDOLPH GAME BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet; 1

Filed Aug. 22, 1935 INVENTOR.

flu a/ 4 4 MM ATTORNEY.

Oct. 5,' 1937. P. RUDOLPH GAME BOARD Filed Aug. 22, 3935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 5, 1937 Edward P. Rudolph,

Shaker Heights, Ohio Application August 22, 1935, Serial No. 37,374

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a game board or bagatelle board'and has for its principal object face of the board.

' .With the foregoing andother and more limited objects in View, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in theaccompanying-drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a top plan view of' adevice embodying my invention; Fig. .2 is a central vertical section therethrough; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken a little above the bottom of the playing surface and Fig. 5. is a detail section taken through the ball projectingdevice.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral It indicates a plate or boardwhich may be composed of wood, metal or other suitable material and the upper surfaceof which forms the playing surface of the board. A flange I l preferably composed of sheet metal extends around the sides and top of the element It) and is secured thereto. A wall l2 extends across the bottom and is secured to the elements It and II. Suitable supporting legs l3 and I4 are provided for giving the element Ill the proper slope with respect to the horizontal. It is to be understood that the length of the sup- 40 porting leg l4 may be varied in order to cause I the ball to move at a faster or slower rate down the board and thereby vary the difficulty of the game. The supporting legs l3 may be integral with the wall l2 especially when the same is made of wood.

The wall or flange II as before stated is preferably made of sheet metal and may have its upper edge turned in as indicated at l5. Spaced from the flange II at one side of the board is a Wall l6 which likewise is turned in as indicated at IT. Struck out of the portions H and I6 are tongues I8 and I9 which form spaced stops allowing a ball to project therebetween to a point below the bottoms thereof whereby to be engaged by the striker 20. This striker may be the cross means for projecting balls onto the playing sursection indicated in Fig. 4 whereby portions thereof will engage under the inturned portions l5 and Il to prevent the same from escaping from the runway. A notch 2| may be provided inthe striker 20 for engagement by the finger of the operator whereby to move the striker 20 down-. wardly against the resistance of the spring 22 which is set into depressions 23 and 24 as will be clear from Fig. 5. By using this construction and elastic balls 25, it is possible to place a plurality of balls in the runway and to cause the uppermost one only to be projected onto the playing surface of the board by a manipulation of the striker 23. In view of the fact that balls such as rubber are notperfectly elastic, successive shots will producea slightly different result in each case, thus adding to the difliculty of the game. It will be understood that it is optional whether a plurality of balls is placed in the runway and that a single one may be used if desired. Furthermore, the striker may be omitted altogether and balls shot from the runway by mean of the finger of the operator. V

Various hazards may be placed on the playing surface of the element I0, such as depressions 26 in which the balls may come to rest. One or more of these may be given game value so that it will be more or less desirable that the-ball should come to rest in such depression or depressions. A plurality of posts 21 may extend upwardly from the element l0 whereby to impart to a. ball rolling downwardly, a tortuous path. Addi-- tional hazards in the form of wire cradles 28 may be arranged on the surface of the board as well as guide members 29 extending angularly downwardly for the purpose of deflecting the ball away from the edge of the board. At the bottom of the board may be arranged a plurality of partition elements 33 between which the ball may finally come to rest. The spaces between these may be given color or other suitable indicia indicating the number of game points resulting from depositing a ball in that particular space.

In addition to the foregoing, I have provided a lever 3| pivoted at 32 to the element l2 and carrying a plurality of manipulators. At the upper end of the lever 3| is a striker 33 which may take the form of a small sphere supported by an L-shaped wire 34 attached to the lever 3| and extending through the slot 35. Farther down the lever is a second manipulator in the form of a guide 36 formed of wire, secured to. the lever by suitable means 31, and extending through the slot 38. This manipulator may also have a concave portion 39 upon which by the exercise of considerable skill the operator may cause the ball to come to rest, thereby permitting a considerable advantage to be obtained in depositing the ball in a desired space between the partitions 30.

Lower down and pivoted to the lever 3| at the points 40 and 4| are wires 42 which terminate in cradles 43 passing through the slot 44 to the upper surface of the board It]. It will be noted that the slot 44 is straight and that the wires 42 must pivot in order to follow the same. This gives these elements a somewhat irregular motion across the board and thereby'renders the game somewhat more difficult.

For the purpose of packing the device in completely assembled form and in the smallest compass possible, it is desirable that the supporting leg I4 be removable and that that portion of the handle which projects beyond the surface of the board be either removable or foldable. I have shown a U-shaped wire handle 45 which is pro vided with inturned portions 46 received in suitable openings in the handle whereby the same may be pivoted to a position beneath the element In. A suitable guide for the lever 3| may take the form of a plurality of wires 46 and 47 having suitable eyes 48 through which screws may extend for securing it to the element II). The motion of the lever in each direction may be checked by suitable stops 49 which may consist of sponge rubber blocks glued to the lower surface of the element l0.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a game board which, although simple, is well adapted for its intended purpose and in connection with which the attainment of a per fect game will be quite difficult.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A game board comprising means defining an inclined playing surface, a runway from which a ball may be projected over said surface to a point adjacent the top thereof, fixed means on said surface for causing the ball to follow a tortuous path and means responsive to the skill of an operator for affecting the motion of the ball after it is on said surface, said last means comprising a lever pivoted adjacent the lower end of the board and carrying a pluralityof manipulators above the pivot point adapted to engage a ball rolling down said surface, the manipulator most remote from said pivot point being a striking button, and the manipulator nearest said pivot point comprising means for holding a ball and a means for causing said ball holding means to move along a path non-concentric to said pivot point and generally parallel to the lower edge of said surface.

2. A game board comprising means defining an inclined playing surface, means for causing a ball to move over said surface at the upper end thereof and means responsive to the skill of an operator for affecting the course of said ball over said surface, said last means comprising a lever carrying a plurality of manipulators, said manipulators being spaced from each other from the upper toward the lower part of said board, one of said manipulators moving in a circular path concentric with said pivot point and another moving in a path substantially parallel with the lower edge of said playing surface.

3. A game board comprising means defining an inclined playing surface, a runway from which a ball may be projected over said surface to a point adjacent the top thereof, fixed means on said surface for causing the ball to follow a tortuous path and means responsive to the skill of an operator for affecting the motion of the ball after it is on said surface, said last means comprising a lever pivoted to the lower edge of said board and carrying a manipulator remote from the pivot point, a second manipulator between said first manipulator and said pivot point, and a third manipulator between said second manipulator and said pivot point, said third manipulator comprising a guide slot in'said first means, a ball holding element pivoted to said lever and having a portion sliding in said slot, said first manipulator being primarily a striker and the second being primarily a guide.

4. A game board comprising means defining an inclined playing surface, a runway from which a ball may be projected over said surface to a point adjacent the top thereof, fixed means on said surface for causing the ball to follow a tortuous path and means responsive to the skill of an operator for affecting the motion of the ball after it is on said surface, said last means comprising a lever pivoted adjacent the bottom of the board and carrying a ball striker, a ball guide and a ball holding means varying in remoteness from the pivot point of the lever in the order named.

EDWARD P. RUDOLPH. 

